Arab News celebrates double win at WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards 2024

Arab News celebrates double win at WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards 2024
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Updated 11 November 2024
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Arab News celebrates double win at WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards 2024

Arab News celebrates double win at WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards 2024
  • ‘Why Riyadh? Saudi Arabia’s Expo 2030’ scooped the top prize for Best Newspaper Infographic while ‘The Fast Track to Makkah’ won Best Newspaper Infographic

LONDON: Arab News marked a double win at the prestigious Asian Media Awards 2024, organized by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, also known as WAN-IFRA.

The Riyadh-based newspaper won top honors for Best Newspaper Front Page Design and Best Newspaper Infographics at the highly competitive event, which featured 251 entries from 42 media organizations across 13 countries.

Arab News secured the Best Newspaper Front Page Design award for its feature, “Why Riyadh? Saudi Arabia’s Expo 2030,” a special issue dedicated to Riyadh’s successful bid to host the World Expo in 2030.

The Best Newspaper Infographic award went to “The Fast Track to Makkah,” showcasing a detailed infographic on the Haramain high-speed rail and Mashaer train, which connects the holy cities of Madinah and Makkah. This graphic was a centerpiece of Arab News’ special Hajj 2023 coverage, lauded for its clarity and creativity in explaining the Kingdom’s 450-km rail network.

WAN-IFRA, founded in 1948 as the Federation Internationale des Editeurs de Journaux et Publications, represents over 18,000 publications globally, promoting publishing standards in design, infographics, editorial, marketing, community service, and photojournalism.

Now in its 23rd year, the awards ceremony took place at Mount Faber Peak, Singapore, with other leading participants including SPH Media, South China Morning Post, Japan Times, and Kumparan.

With these new accolades, Arab News has now won 145 awards under the leadership of Editor-in-Chief Faisal J. Abbas, who has steered the publication’s transformation to a digital-first platform since 2016.

Past recognition encompasses a range of special projects, including multiple international awards for “Saudi’s Animal Kingdom,” “The Kingdom vs. Captagon” deep dive, and the “FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022” special edition.

For more information about Arab News and its award-winning projects, visit arabnews.com/greatesthits.


MBC Group companies sign MoUs with TikTok

MBC Group companies sign MoUs with TikTok
Updated 1 min 7 sec ago
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MBC Group companies sign MoUs with TikTok

MBC Group companies sign MoUs with TikTok
  • Potential partnerships will see the companies collaborate on creating content and selling adverts

DUBAI: Leading regional media company MBC Group has overseen the signings of memorandums of understanding between two of the group’s companies, MBC Media and MBC Media Solutions, with short-form video company TikTok.

The former MoU aims to leverage the expertise of both companies in creating content for TikTok. As part of the potential agreement, MBC Media will create content for TikTok across verticals including entertainment, lifestyle, and music.

The partnership reflects “both companies’ commitment to innovative content creation to meet the diverse needs of audiences in the rapidly evolving KSA market,” according to a statement.

The second MoU, between MBC’s in-house commercial advertising and sales arm MMS and TikTok, will see MMS become the official advertising partner of the short-form video platform in Saudi Arabia. 

The agreement will see MMS provide advertisers access to TikTok’s ad formats in the Kingdom through an advertising reselling program.

MMS is already familiar with this role given that it was appointed the official reseller of TikTok in Egypt in May 2023.

MBC Group and TikTok have worked together in the past through initiatives like a film-making competition, called #FilmOnTikTok, in collaboration with MBC Group’s educational and training arm, MBC Academy in 2021.

In 2023, TikTok and MMS renewed a partnership that allowed TikTok advertisers to pair their advertising with unique MBC content throughout Ramadan.


Netflix launches two-day ‘fan experience’ in Jeddah

Netflix launches two-day ‘fan experience’ in Jeddah
Updated 13 min 39 sec ago
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Netflix launches two-day ‘fan experience’ in Jeddah

Netflix launches two-day ‘fan experience’ in Jeddah
  • Event will run on Dec. 5 and 6 at Le Chateau Mall

DUBAI: Netflix is hosting an interactive two-day “fan experience” in Jeddah’s Le Chateau Mall on Dec. 5 and 6, the company said.

The event will feature several zones, each dedicated to Netflix’s international and Arabic series, movies and games.

For example, visitors can create a personalized scent inspired by the show “Finding Ola” or engage in games and challenges in the areas dedicated to sports doc series “Saudi Pro League: Kickoff” and Kuwaiti series “The Exchange.”

Other zones dedicated to the Middle East include one for “AlKhallat+,” the first Saudi movie to be created for Netflix; “Ras B Ras,” an action feature film from Saudi creators Abdulaziz Al-Muzaini and Malik Nejer; and “Love is Blind Habibi,” the Arab version of the international reality show “Love is Blind.”

Visitors can also walk into the Wednesday Addams’ bedroom from the show “Wednesday,” enjoy high tea at a “Bridgerton”-inspired cafe and participate in a challenge inspired by “One Piece” character Monkey D. Luffy.

The brand experience will also include photo ops, live entertainment and a meet-and-greet with actors and creators.

The free event will run from 4 p.m. to midnight.


PUBG Mobile and Qiddiya Gaming announce partnership

PUBG Mobile and Qiddiya Gaming announce partnership
Updated 05 December 2024
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PUBG Mobile and Qiddiya Gaming announce partnership

PUBG Mobile and Qiddiya Gaming announce partnership
  • Collaboration reflects ‘shared commitment to elevating the gaming ecosystem’

DUBAI: PUBG Mobile, a multiplayer mobile battle game, has teamed up with Saudi Arabia’s electronic sports and gaming district Qiddiya Gaming to provide exclusive in-game content and new e-sports experiences.

Qiddiya Gaming will also play an “integral role” in and “supercharge” the PUBG Mobile Global Championship 2024, which is scheduled to take place in London from Dec. 6-8, according to a statement.

The exclusive in-game content has been developed in collaboration with Qiddiya Gaming and will be available on PUBG Mobile in the game’s “World of Wonder” mode that offers different templates for players to build their own battleground with its own rules.

This collaboration reflects a “shared commitment to elevating the gaming ecosystem” and pushes “the boundaries of innovative gameplay,” the statement said.

More details about Qiddiya’s role in the championship and in-game content will be revealed at a later date.

Earlier this year, PUBG Mobile debuted at Saudi Arabia’s Esports World Cup. The game’s developer, Level Infinite, partnered with the Esports World Cup Foundation to collaborate on various projects over the next three years.

Located in Qiddiya City, the gaming and e-sports district will be home to several dedicated e-sports venues, including one that will be one of the three biggest in the world. The district covers more than 500,000 sq. meters of gaming space and aims to attract 10 million visits annually, with 100,000 sq. meters dedicated to retail, dining and entertainment venues.

 


Saudi Journalists Association approves draft regulations for Journalists Support Fund

Saudi Journalists Association approves draft regulations for Journalists Support Fund
Updated 05 December 2024
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Saudi Journalists Association approves draft regulations for Journalists Support Fund

Saudi Journalists Association approves draft regulations for Journalists Support Fund
  • The regulations approved at the meeting — chaired by Adhwan Al-Ahmari — aimed at providing various services and support to fellow journalists across the Kingdom

RIYADH: The board of directors of the Saudi Journalists Association approved draft regulations for the Journalists Support Fund as well as discussed other topics during its meeting on Wednesday.

The regulations approved at the meeting — chaired by Adhwan Al-Ahmari — aimed at providing various services and support to fellow journalists across the Kingdom. The board also adopted a comprehensive strategy for the SJA’s work on different levels for the next three years.

Other items discussed were the approval of the Human Capital Development Initiative, proposed by the chairman in collaboration with several entities. In the context of expanding the SJA’s activities, the board also approved the opening of a new branch in Jeddah.

Additionally, the board approved a plan to invest the association’s assets into some parts of the main building in Riyadh, and authorized the Investment and Resource Development Committee to oversee the implementation.

Members also reviewed the performance and review report of various committees’ activities during the past period and commended the efforts made, emphasizing the importance of enhancing quality programs and activities that meet current needs.

The meeting reaffirmed the association’s commitment to continuing to develop performance and enhance its role in supporting journalists, keeping up with changes in the media sector, and serving the interests of the journalistic community.


Syrian photographer for German news agency DPA killed near Syria’s Hama

Mourners and colleagues surround the body of Syrian photojournalist Anas Alkharboutli, during his funeral in Syria's northern ci
Mourners and colleagues surround the body of Syrian photojournalist Anas Alkharboutli, during his funeral in Syria's northern ci
Updated 04 December 2024
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Syrian photographer for German news agency DPA killed near Syria’s Hama

Mourners and colleagues surround the body of Syrian photojournalist Anas Alkharboutli, during his funeral in Syria's northern ci
  • Anas Alkharboutli, who worked for German press agency DPA, was killed in an air strike near Hama

BEIRUT: Award-winning Syrian photographer Anas Alkharboutli, who worked for German press agency DPA, was killed Wednesday in an air strike near the Syrian city of Hama, his employer said.
“Our photographer Anas Alkharboutli, who documented the civil war in Syria in a unique visual language, has been killed in an air strike near the Syrian city of Hama. Anas was just 32 years old,” DPA said in a statement.
“All of us at DPA are in shock and deeply saddened by the death of Anas Alkharboutli,” editor-in-chief Sven Goesmann said in the statement.
“With his pictures, he not only documented the horrors of war, but always worked for the truth. Anas remains a role model for our work,” he added.
Islamist-led rebels last week launched a massive offensive in northern Syria, taking second city Aleppo from government control and advancing on the central city of Hama, with fierce clashes reported between the fighters and the army.
Ali Hajj Sleiman, a journalist who was with Alkharboutli, told AFP that they had seen aircraft overhead in the Morek area near Hama, where they and other colleagues had regrouped.
“We heard a very loud noise and started running, then the blast threw me to the ground,” he said.
After the strike, “I found Anas lying in his own blood... He had lost both his legs... He died in the ambulance before arriving at the hospital.”
Alkharboutli began working as a photojournalist in 2015 and joined DPA two years later, the agency said.
He received the Young Reporter Trophy of France’s prestigious Bayeux Award for war reporting in 2020, and won the sports category for the 2021 Sony World Photography Awards.
He was laid to rest in the rebel-held northwestern city of Idlib.
Authorities in the rebel enclave say three other journalists from the area have been killed since the offensive began last week.
War monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Wednesday the death toll in eight days of fighting had risen to 704, including 110 civilians.